This invention is in the field of document delivery devices such as mailing devices utilizing a message sheet and envelope, and more particularly a coded mailing device to facilitate machine sorting.
Description of the Prior Art:
Standard bar coding has been established in the merchandising field to allow automatic reading of the data represented by the code. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,204 issued to Hughes, et al. discloses a self-adhesive label mounted to a document with the label having a telephone number in bar code form. Mailing address information has also been represented by bar codes printed on envelopes such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,317 issued to Kranz. Another example of optical character recognition markings being printed directly on the envelope is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,635 issued to Barr.
Typically, the sender of correspondence such as a bill or statement includes within the original envelope a return envelope to facilitate return of a check or money order by the recepient. The return envelope must be pre-printed with the sender's address and in many cases contains the optical character or bar coded information associated with the sender's address. The pre-printing of the return envelope, as well as the inclusion of the return envelope in the original envelope, adds to the mailing cost. As such, there is a need for a means to provide the recipient with the bar coded information of the sender's address without including a return envelope in the sender's original envelope. Disclosed herein is such a mailing device.
My mailing device includes a sticker or label removably mounted to the original statement or stationary duplicating the letterhead appearing thereon which also includes bar coded address information. The recipient may then remove the label and attach the label to a return envelope supplied by the recipient providing automatically for the bar coded information corresponding to the original sender's address. Peel-off labels incorporating bar code information are previously known such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,327 issued to Logan; however, a mailing device including a return envelope and original sender's stationary with peel-off letterhead label has not been previously known. Another version of a peel-off label is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,877 issued to Jenkins.
The removable paper sticker may also include the phone number of the presenter and therefore be removed from the letterhead and mounted at a convenient location adjacent a phone to allow for recall of the presenter's phone number. Further, the stickers may be shaped as a business card and may be arranged in a vertical stack and removed therefrom to be mounted to a return envelope. Thus, the sticker can serve as a combination business card and return address sticker.